If National wins ...

[elZorro]

I think if you check the language they use outside the House you will find they are much more considered in their comments. They may use every euphemism possible but they wont use the word liar.

I think I'm on very safe ground.

http://thestandard.org.nz/the-great-...-lies-updated/

And, I think the link between John Key and the word "lies" or "lying" would be fairly strong over the internet. Who is he going to sue? All of us?

[BlackPeter]

Why have I found out about this via the Guardian and not the NZ press?

Why is the government not commenting?

What is John Key going to do about it or his he going to try and dismiss it with a joke?

Will the Labour party formulate a policy to prevent such happenings on their watch?

Best Wishes
Paper Tiger

Oh dear ... now you've done it. EZ and his soul mates will regurgitate this unfortunate event until Inky comes home or Labour looses the next election (whatever comes first).

Not sure either how any responsible PM could allow such a terrible thing to happen. On the other hand, given that Inky is probably a Leftie (he used the sewer to escape), maybe the whole affair was just a political amnesty? Still concerning, given that he was incarcerated without having had his day in court first.

I suppose National is already briefing CT to start a campaign to limit larger public damage ...

[BlackPeter]

I think I'm on very safe ground.

http://thestandard.org.nz/the-great-...-lies-updated/

And, I think the link between John Key and the word "lies" or "lying" would be fairly strong over the internet. Who is he going to sue? All of us?

Yak, need to clean my laptop screen after opening your link ... do you really read this junk? Remember - not everything on the internet is true or legal ...

[elZorro]

Yak, need to clean my laptop screen after opening your link ... do you really read this junk? Remember - not everything on the internet is true or legal ...

It is a big list, some fibs/lies are bigger than others, sure.

Andrew Little has supplied his tax returns since 2010, from before he left the EPMU. Still no action on that from John Key, but he did spend all of Sunday checking with his two financial advisors, one in NZ and one in USA. So he didn't know for sure what was going on, and was a bit worried about it. It's all sorted now.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/poli...-promised.html

[elZorro]

A blog on the Panama papers and an interesting comment about John Key, from Chris Trotter.

http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2...rtant-are.html

Gareth Vaughan had an article about wide gaps in our financial services industry in NZ, late last year. It has taken the Panama Papers to galvanise the govt into, well, getting one of their mates to file a report.

http://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/78...-pacific-money

[winner69]

Weekend reading EZ

http://www.theguardian.com/books/201...george-monbiot

labour not trying trying to come up with a coherent alternative - as George says "the central task should be to develop an economic Apollo programme, a conscious attempt to design a new system, tailored to the demands of the 21st century."

Labour too like National - that will never get them in power

[elZorro]

Weekend reading EZ

http://www.theguardian.com/books/201...george-monbiot

labour not trying trying to come up with a coherent alternative - as George says "the central task should be to develop an economic Apollo programme, a conscious attempt to design a new system, tailored to the demands of the 21st century."

Labour too like National - that will never get them in power

Very interesting article, W69. It sounds very accurate too. I'd much prefer a Keynesian approach to the neoliberal one, but as the article concludes, there has to be something in there about the environment too. If we grow the economy by whatever means is easiest at the moment, we'll end up with accelerated global warming, no-one wins. There's a lot there about the greedy few at the top, the mechanisms and the decades of combined effort that got them into the favoured position that they are in now. Knowing for sure that most of them pay hardly any tax, really rankles.

We'll need lots of lower cost, carbon neutral energy to dig ourselves out of the situation ahead. Maybe that's a core objective of any new political system.

[macduffy]

There's a lot there about the greedy few at the top, the mechanisms and the decades of combined effort that got them into the favoured position that they are in now. Knowing for sure that most of them pay hardly any tax, really rankles.

Ah, yes! The greedy few. The rest of us are lily-white innocents.

[elZorro]

Ah, yes! The greedy few. The rest of us are lily-white innocents.

I didn't say we were, but the main fact is that once people get to be really rich, they tend to pay other specialists to minimise their tax, that is the step they take, the step too far, as far as I'm concerned. Once governments ensure that this process is made easier, they are complicit, especially if they don't close loopholes down when they are noticed.

Most National MPs are wealthier than, say, Labour or Green MPs. In fact National MPs with their "stated wealth" are still making up the top ten wealthiest MPs at the moment. There is a rumour that John Key is worth a lot more than about $50mill. In which case, a conservative 10% return on even $50mill p.a. invested in equities or other decent investments, not property holdings, is $5mill, and taxed at about 33% is an eye-watering $1.65mill in taxes p.a.. I bet John's not paying that, hence he's not going to show us his tax returns. But the IRD expects anyone on wages earning over about $45,000 to be paying 33% PAYE, and businesses as well are effectively tied to the same rates once they pull money out of the firm. Remember SMEs, the "backbone of the economy" and major employers?

If John Key wants us to believe that he's not using tax havens or other means of tax minimisation that normal people don't access, then he has to prove it by releasing his tax returns. And yes, by comparison, the rest of us are innocents.

[craic]

John Key does not have to prove anything - he is subject to the same rigorous examination by Inland Revenue as is every other taxpayer. He is not a fool so he knows that "Giving unto Caesar that which is etc." is the simple and effective way. and protects you from the allegations of lies by the left.




























































































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